


Εξι Mήνες

by EmbraceTheEccentric



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, F/M, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Hades and persephone myth, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Romance, inspired by art by cassandraemeraldsong, theres no kidnapping or stockholm I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 17:43:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11190120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmbraceTheEccentric/pseuds/EmbraceTheEccentric
Summary: The classic Greek myth of Hades and Persephone but with just a few differences.





	Εξι Mήνες

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by some lovely art by tumblr user @cassandraemeraldsong which you can find [here](http://cassandraemeraldsong.tumblr.com/post/157892048558/theres-no-way-im-the-first-person-to-draw-the)
> 
> Apologies if the scenes seem rushed or muddled together, I tried to transition them as best I could. I just didn’t see this story as a multi-chapter thing so I fit it all in one.
> 
> Hades: Kravitz, Persephone: Taako, Zeus: Lucretia, Poseidon: Barry, Demeter: Lup, Athena: Angus, Hephaestus: Magnus, Hermes: Merle, Dionysus: Avi, Apollo: Johann, Ares: Killian, Artemis: Carey

 

Normally when someone is involved in a healthy relationship they get a choice. What exactly do they get a choice in? Any number of things, really. Where they want to go on a date, for example, or how much they want to spend on gifts for one another. Most importantly they get a choice in the time spent with one another. A good relationship has a balance. If the couple is constantly together there’s no time spent with family or friends. If all of their time is spent with family and friends then there’s barely a relationship left. So they find a balance that works for them, that works for everyone. That’s a normal relationship.

The problem is Gods aren’t that normal.

Sure, they share many of the same problems mortals deal with. They get into meaningless fights over possessions. They argue over duties and responsibilities. They sometimes _neglect_ those duties and responsibilities if there’s enough laziness or spite behind it. They experience the entire range of emotions, sorrow and joy and anger and more, just like any human would. One big difference between humans and Gods though is that under normal circumstances those emotions can’t influence the weather or kill crops or cause natural disasters. But again, the Gods aren’t that normal.

Those emotions though, as volatile as they may be, are necessary. They keep the Gods in check, remind them to care for the patrons who pray for their favor and to punish those who evoke their wrath.

And the Gods can love, oh can they love. Platonic and romantic and sexual and everything in between. Love could be a messy thing, a complicated thing, especially when it came to all powerful beings. Love is what got Taako into the situation he currently found himself in.

To be fair it didn’t start out as love. None of that love at first sight bull shit, no sir, not for ol’ Taako. It was more like cute face at first sight and hoo boy did he have a cute face.

But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Taako had been wandering in a field, far from human civilization and far from Mount Olympus. There was drama everywhere he looked, people yelling over petty things resulting in fight after fight. Currently Barry was claiming the ocean felt warmer than usual but Lup said she hadn’t been making the Summer any hotter than she normally did, that he should blame the mortals for mistreating his precious salt water. When Taako had finally managed to slip away Lucretia was just starting to intervene, but even the ruler of the Gods could only do so much before Lup started setting things on fire. Taako needed some time away from it all, time to himself.

Well not completely to himself. He had allowed the young God of wisdom to tag along. Angus could talk a mile a minute, an unlimited arsenal of knowledge at his disposal, but at least the kid didn’t bring the drama with him.

The field he found for a moment of quiet was filled with flowers and tall grass reaching up past his knees. Taako held his hands out and let the tips of the grass brush cross his fingertips as Angus trailed behind him pointing out various plant species.

“The humans like to wear _Centaurea cyanus_ as a sign that they’re in love.” Angus droned on, twirling the small blue flower in his hands as he jogged along in an effort to keep up with Taako’s long strides. “If the flower faded quickly it meant their love wasn’t returned.”

“Geez Agnes, maybe teach me about a flower that’s a little less depressing.” Taako drawled, plucking the tops of flowers that he passed by. He reached up to tuck the blossoms into the ribbons on his hat and with barely a thought made more flowers regrow where he had picked them. Taako glanced to the side as Angus caught up with him.

“It’s only depressing if the love is unrequited, sir.” Angus argued. Taako snorted and stopped walking, turning on his heel to face the young God.

“I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, kid.” Taako crouched down so they were eye level. Angus stared intently back, eager for any bit of information he didn’t already have. “All love is depressing.” Angus frowned.

“I’m not sure I agree with that.” He mumbled as he tucked the flower in with all the others on Taako’s hat. Taako threw his hands up and stood, twirling around to take in his surroundings. A few isolated trees were scattered throughout the field, their leaves rustling in the warm Summer breeze. The breeze carried the sweet scents of marigolds and lilies with it prompting Taako to take a deep breath, eyes slipping shut.

“Falling in love is a one way ticket to confusion and frustration and all those nasty little feelings.” Taako went on. “Just look at my sister and Barry. Those two are super deep in love and even they fight.” Taako’s ears twitched as they picked up something hidden in the breeze. He strained to identify it under the rustling leaves. Was that music he was hearing?

“But the bad parts shouldn’t necessarily take away from the good.” Angus pressed on. Taako’s eyes snapped open and he quickly looked around, concentrating on the soft melody he swore wasn’t just in his head.

“You hear that, Angus?” Taako reached down and placed a hand on Angus’s mouth to keep him from talking. “Just listen, it sounds like music.” The two Gods stood in silence for a few moments before Angus gave a soft gasp.

“I hear it.” He whispered, also looking around in an effort to locate the source. “I thought you said we were alone in this meadow.”

“I thought we were.” Taako confessed, taking a few steps towards where he thought the music was coming from. He was rewarded when it became just a tiny bit louder so he waved to Angus to follow him. “I didn’t sense any humans and all the Gods are back at HQ-”

“Not all of them.” Taako paused and looked back to see Angus had stopped in his tracks. The kid was looking around frantically and fiddling with the belt on his robe. “Taako, we should go.”

“What’s up, pumpkin?” Taako asked with a frown. Before Angus could answer, the music, which had become loud enough for Taako to recognize as a violin playing, suddenly stopped. Taako’s ears twitched trying to pick up any new sounds as Angus looked even more worried.

“Taako, please-”

“Hello there.” Taako spun around, his eyes landing on a figure emerging from behind one of the trees. They were still a distance away, features and details muddled by the shade of the tree. Taako spotted the vague outline of a violin held at their side.

“Hail and well met, my dude.” Taako called out, hand raising in a welcoming wave as he walked towards them. The figure mirrored the wave and took a few hesitant steps forward into the sunlight. Taako sucked in a breath, ignoring Angus tugging at his robes quietly pleading for them to leave.

The man that emerged from the shade was dressed in familiar black attire, similar to the green robes Taako was wearing and the light blue on Angus. His face made Taako’s heart skip a beat, angular cheekbones and smooth dark skin. Long dark dreads were held back with a tie and now that they were closer Taako could even see his eyes, silver and filled with curiosity.

“Apologies, I thought I was the only one here.” The man spoke, voice wavering through the first few words like he was deciding how to speak.

“Not a problem, handsome.” Taako replied with a smile, the man blushing a bit at his words. Taako gestured behind him. “Me and the little man were just enjoying the nice weather.” The man tilted his head to look past Taako and, upon seeing Angus, raised a brow.

“Good afternoon, Angus.” He greeted with a small smile. Taako looked down at the boy as he came out from behind him to stand at his side.

“Hello sir.” Angus said with a nod of his head, still clutching Taako’s robes. Taako looked back and forth between the two and let out a chuckle.

“You know each other then?” Angus looked up at him, the distrust in his face turning to disapproval.

“You would know him too if you ever showed up to the council meetings.” Angus chided.

“Ah.” The man mused, Taako and Angus looking back at him. “So that’s why we haven’t met yet.” He tucked the violin under the arm holding his bow and held out his free hand to Taako. “I’m Kravitz. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you…”

“Taako.” He answered, taking the offered hand. “God of Spring. How unfortunate it’s taken this long for me to meet the God of…what exactly?” Before Kravitz could answer Angus piped up beside him, once again tugging at Taako’s robes.

“God of the underworld and we really must go now.” Taako laughed, carefully prying Angus’s fingers from his robes.

“Woah now, if you wanna leave then you can leave.” Taako looked back over at Kravitz who was watching the exchange, curiosity back in his silver eyes. “Taako’s gonna stay here and chat with death for a bit.”

“But sir-”

“Why don’t you go visit Magnus, huh?” Taako prompted, ruffling the young God’s hair before giving him a small push away. “I’m sure he’s built some shiny new bobble that you need to document.” Angus opened his mouth to argue again before letting out a sigh. He knew when Taako had his mind set on something there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. With one last look at Kravitz, the tiniest hint of doubt still warping his normally happy face, Angus dissipated into mist leaving the older Gods alone. Taako turned back towards Kravitz, the smile on his face faltering a bit at seeing the other man frowning.

“I’m sorry if I caused any problems-” Kravitz began. Taako waved his hands in the air, cutting off the other God’s apology.

“No problem at all, homie.” Taako assured him, a wide grin on his face. Kravitz gave a small smile in return. Taako looked down at the violin tucked under his arm and gestured towards it. “So that was you playing that sweet melody.”

“Oh!” Kravitz pulled out the violin again as if remembering that he had it. “Yes that was me. Sometimes it’s hard to find a moment of peace down below so I come up here and play to clear my head.” He stared down at the instrument with such fondness that Taako felt something in his chest tighten.

“Ya know, I’ve never actually seen the underworld.” Taako spoke with a soft voice and took a step closer towards Kravitz. The other man tensed but didn’t step away which Taako counted as a win.

“For good reason. It’s not exactly a place for the living.” Kravitz pointed out with a chuckle.

“Yeah, but we’re Gods.” Taako said with a superfluous wave of his hand and yet another step forward. “We can go wherever the fuck we want.” Kravitz laughed again but as Taako continued to smile earnestly back at him his brow furrowed.

“Would you…do you actually wish to _see_ the underworld, Taako?” The God of Spring shrugged and walked over to the tree Kravitz had been playing behind.

“Why not? I’ve got nothing better to do.” He confessed, running a hand along the bark of the tree. Lichens and moss sprouted up where his fingers touched. “My sister’s probably still threatening to set the ocean on fire and if I go back now she’s just gonna try to drag me onto her side.”

“That’s right, you’re Lup’s younger brother.” Taako let out a snort and Kravitz found himself smiling at the noise.

“We’re twins homie, doesn’t really matter if I was created a split second after her.” It truly didn’t matter but Lup would hold that over his head until, quite literally, the end of times. It was her favorite excuse for telling Taako what to do and deciding what was best for them.

“Well evidently that’s enough for her.” Kravitz walked over to the tree as well, watching in fascination as Taako created more plants. “She seems very protective of you.”

“We’re protective of each other.” Taako corrected. Kravitz pressed his fingers against the bark and let out a thoughtful hum. Taako heard something in the noise and paused. “What is it?” He asked, looking over to see Kravitz once again frowning.

“Well…you’ve really never heard of me?” Kravitz finally asked looking up at Taako. The other God shrugged.

“I mean, I knew there was a God of the underworld but I never knew the name or the very cute face that went along with the job.” He added a wink to the last part, pleased to see the blush return to Kravitz’s cheeks along with a slight smile. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve asked about you.” Kravitz admitted, immediately rushing to explain himself one he realized the implications of what he had said. “Not in a creepy way!” He blurted out, Taako’s eyebrow raising as a giggle bubbled beneath his lips. “I just found it strange that I had never met one of the Gods before, you never go to the council meetings I attend. So I asked your sister where I could find you, just for an introduction. She said you were never in the same place so she’d pass along the message and you would find me.”

“Are you serious?” Taako asked in disbelief. He glared up at the sky as if his twin could see him. “Oh Lulu, you are in _so_ much trouble when I get back.” Kravitz watched as thorny vines began to wrap around the tree, sprouting from where Taako’s hand still touched the bark. He let out a nervous chuckle and began to pluck at the strings of his violin, a staccato version of the melody he had been playing earlier.

“It’s fine, really. Understandable if anything.” His voice was soft, a touch of accepted sorrow in it that made Taako’s mood drop. The vine’s stopped growing and Taako took his hand off of the tree.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The God of death isn’t exactly someone most people trust. Your sister probably didn’t want me around you.” Taako frowned and moved back towards Kravitz, the other man plucking a wrong note in surprise at their closeness.

“But that’s not fair. You don’t _cause_ death, you just watch over the dead.” Kravitz shrugged and looked away, the notes shifting into a minor key. Taako frowned. “Is that why Ango wanted me to leave?”

“Most likely.” Kravitz nodded. He stopped plucking and shifted his violin so it was tucked back beneath his arm. “Of course Angus has always been wary around me. I didn’t look my best when we first met.” Before Taako could ask what he meant Kravitz’s form began to shift. His skin seemed to melt away, revealing the bleached white bone of a skeleton. His silver eyes were engulfed by red flames that floated in the sockets of his skull. The violin at his side transformed as well, elongating into a large chrome scythe that Kravitz clutched in his bony hands. Taako watched the change in delight as Kravitz looked off to the side, managing to appear embarrassed even as a skeleton.

“The more, shall we say, rebellious spirits tend to take me a little more seriously when I look like this. But I sometimes forget that I’m in this form so when I showed up to Angus’s first council meeting like this, well…”

“I love this.” Kravitz looked back at Taako in surprise, bones clicking together almost musically as he moved. The God of Spring was grinning, a genuine smile that caught Kravitz off guard.

“You…you love this?” Kravitz asked, trying to wrap his head around Taako’s unusual reaction.

“Yeah, I mean I love it like I love those little insects that look like twigs.” He explained with a shrug. “It’s cool, ya know?” The skull tilted, staring at Taako in disbelief.

 “Cool…” He repeated as skin melded back over his bones and Taako could properly see the incredulous shock in Kravitz’s features. The scythe remained and Kravitz gripped it tighter, pulling the staff close to his chest. Taako was still smiling, prompting Kravitz to mirror the cheerful grin. However, the smile fell when he caught sight of how far the sun had moved and he realized he had been away from his duties for long enough. “I’ve unfortunately overstayed my welcome. I’m not meant to be away from the underworld for so long.” Taako’s smile stayed but it became smaller, his eyes sad. But Kravitz watched as they suddenly lit up, Taako’s grin returning full force.

“I wasn’t kidding, you know.” Taako began, reaching out to place his hands over Kravitz’s as if to keep him from leaving. He nearly pulled back in surprise at how cold Kravitz’s skin was despite the Summer heat. “I’d really like to see the underworld, that is, if you’re willing to give a tour.” Kravitz blinked at him, processing the request that he had likely never expected to hear in his entire existence.

“You _seriously_ wish to see the underworld?” Kravitz asked, trying his best to ignore Taako’s warm hands covering his own. Taako’s enthusiastic nodding made him chuckle and let out a sigh. “Very well. But only for a little while. I wouldn’t want to evoke your sister’s wrath by keeping you away for too long.” He offered his arm to Taako which the other God happily took before watching in amazement as Kravitz swung the scythe down in an arc, tearing an entrance to his realm into thin air.

“Don’t worry about Lup. I’m sure she won’t even notice me missing.” Taako promised. He’d only be there for an hour or two, a few hours at the most. He’d come back, Lup and Barry would have made up by then and gone back to their gross lovey-dovey ways, and Taako would have a new get-away spot for when things weren’t so chill up in the land of the living.

Funny thing is, time is a weird thing in the underworld. Time for an immortal being works in strange ways as is. A God could walk among mortals, be invested in their lives and impatient with how long it takes their children to grow old enough to hold a conversation, but they could also treat a century as nothing more than time for a very long nap.

But in the underworld, where there was no rise and set of the sun to determine a day or change of seasons to measure a year, time was irrelevant. The dead had no reason to count their days, to have a schedule of any kind. The Gods had a sort of internalized clock, an instinct in the back of their minds that reminded them time was passing, but it was easy to tune out.

So what Taako intended to be a visit lasting only a few hours ended up being a few days which turned into a few weeks which became nearly a year of time spent with Kravitz. Taako just never wanted to leave and Kravitz seemed more than happy to have him around.

When Kravitz was working, watching over souls and overseeing their placement within his realm, Taako would wander and explore. Tartarus, of course, was off limits to him but he found more than enough to interest him elsewhere. The Asphodel Meadows bored him fairly quickly but Elysium was never so dull, filled with demigods and heroes and philosophers who would tell Taako incredible stories. Some had even prayed to Taako while alive and the God of Spring certainly wasn’t complaining about their awestruck amazement at meeting their deity.

Taako tended to avoid the Mourning Fields, the section of the underworld reserved for souls who lived a life of unrequited love. Taako found all of it quite depressing but when his mind would wander he found himself there, drawn towards the grief by some invisible force. Kravitz found him there one day, watching the souls who died loving those who would never love them.

“I just don’t understand it.” Taako spoke, sensing Kravitz behind him. The God of death walked closer to rest his hands on Taako’s waist. Casual touches had become commonplace between them over time. “They wasted their lives for a pretty face that never liked them back.” He suddenly thought of Angus and the young God’s reasoning that love was only depressing when it was unrequited.

“Some would consider love to be a noble venture.” Was Kravitz’s response, earning a doubtful chuckle from Taako. “They risk many things by choosing to give their hearts to another.” Taako turned around to face the other God, looking up to see silver eyes watching him carefully. He reached up and plucked a bright blue flower from his hat, the blossom still as fresh as the day Angus put it there, and tucked it behind Kravitz’s ear. Silver eyes followed the movement and Kravitz’s nose crinkled in delight at the colorful addition to his attire.

“You got a weird way of looking at the world, handsome.” Taako murmured.

Taako didn’t regret a single moment of that year spent in the underworld. It gave him the space from the other Gods that he had been seeking for millennia. And that year could have even become a decade or longer together had it not been for his sister and her stupidly overprotective nature. Mount Olympus wanted Taako back and who would they send but the God of communication and diplomacy himself to drag him home.

Kravitz and Taako had been walking through Elysium, hands clasped together and swinging back and forth between them, when one of Kravitz’s messenger ravens flew down to perch on his shoulder, a small bit of parchment in her beak. The pair of Gods paused their walk and Kravitz reached up to take the parchment. Taako watched as he read the message, his relaxed look turning to one of concern.

“Merle is here and has requested to speak with you.” Kravitz relayed, voice somber as he crumpled the parchment into ashes and let it drift down to the ground. Taako watched the ashes fall, his chest tightening as Kravitz tugged his hand to lead him away.

Usually Taako loved seeing Merle. He was one of the older Gods, which normally translated to being uptight or cynical, but Merle’s sense of humor was like that of a young adult making him surprisingly pleasant to be around. Taako also loved how he could grow flowers from his wooden arm and weave them into the God’s beard.

Merle had lost his arm fighting a chimera. He had always had a soft spot for nature and loved when he was sent as a messenger to Taako or Lup because it meant he could spent some time in the forests. On one such trip he came across a pair of dryads trying to escape a particularly nasty chimera spitting fire and burning their grove. Fighting wasn’t his strong suit but Merle felt compelled to defend them. The monster put up a good fight but in the end was still no match for a God, regardless of his fighting abilities. Unfortunately the chimera’s snake tail had managed to bite his arm and venom started spreading, slowly but surely. Merle tried to ignore it, tried to will it to recede and heal but he gradually lost the ability to use his fingers.

There was a lot of yelling, a lot of arguing and shouting and debating, but in the end Magnus was called in to cut the poisoned limb off. Merle wasn’t the happiest about the situation and retreated to the forest for peace from the pitying looks he was receiving from the other Gods. While he was there word spread from animal scouts to the dryads of his injury. A new arm was presented to him in thanks for his sacrifice, one crafted of blessed wood.

That arm looked out of place in the land of the dead. Only in the Elysian Fields and Asphodel Meadows had Taako seen thriving flora. Every other region of the underworld was quite literally lifeless, mostly comprised of rock and the occasional cropping of glowing crystals, so to see a wooden arm actively sprouting lavender was a strange sight. The messenger of the Gods was peering into the murky waters of the River Styx, waving a sprig of lavender beneath his nose.

“Merle.” Kravitz called out in greeting. “How lovely to see you.” The older God looked up, an unimpressed look on his face as he regarded Kravitz and Taako.

“Is it?” Merle asked, doubtful. “Is it lovely?” Taako hid a snort of laughter behind his hand as Kravitz grimaced slightly.

“Of course. You deliver spirits to my realm but I feel as though we never have a chance to talk.”

“You want to talk?” Merle raised an eyebrow as he walked over to the other Gods. “Sure, let’s talk. I’d really like to hear the story of how you kidnapped the God of Spring.”

“ _Kidnapped_?” Taako repeated, incredulous as he stepped around Kravitz with his fists clenched at his sides. “Kravitz didn’t _kidnap_ me.”

“Well Lup seems to think differently. No one’s seen you for a year-”

“She should be used to that.” Taako argued, crossing his arms over his chest. “I go missing all the time, I wander.”

“Yeah you wander Earth, not the underworld.” Merle glanced over to Kravitz who was staring off into the river, seeming very uncomfortable with the current conversation. “When Angus came back freaking out over you spending quality time with the God of death she went looking all over for you.”

“She hasn’t come to get me, or sent a message before now.” Taako reasoned. Merle shrugged and picked off a wilting leaf from his arm.

“She figured you’d come back eventually, that you hanging out with Kravitz was just a rebellious thing and you’d get bored in due time like you do with most things.”

“A rebellious thing? I’m not a child going through a phase, we’re the _same age_.” Taako huffed and shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”

“Taako-”

“What?” He snapped, glaring before he realized it was Kravitz who said his name. Taako looked at the God who was watching him, worry clear in his silver eyes. “Do…do you want me to leave?” Taako asked, taking a step away. Kravitz eyes widened slightly and he quickly shook his head.

“No, no I don’t want you to leave.” He reached out and took Taako’s hand in his own, keeping him from moving farther away. “Of course not, I love having you here-”

“Then it’s settled.” Taako declared, turning back towards Merle who was looking at Kravitz with a strange expression on his face. “I’m not leaving. So you can tell Lup to stick it where the sun don’t-“

“It was Lucretia’s order.” Merle’s voice was softer now as he continued to watch Kravitz. Both Kravitz and Taako tensed as they processed Merle’s words.

“Lucretia has ordered Taako to return? I thought Lup-”

“Lup’s been refusing to keep the climate warm enough for crops to grow until you come back. Humans are dying, it’s the worst famine they’ve seen in years. Lucretia made the call to minimize damage.”

“Oh so I’m the rebellious child but meanwhile Lup’s up there throwing a fucking _temper tantrum_?” Merle shrugged and Taako let out a frustrated shout, dropping Kravitz’s hand as he stormed over to the edge of the River Styx. He vaguely heard Kravitz begin to talk with Merle, ask if there was any way to negotiate with Lup only for Merle to explain that the Goddess’s fiery temper was a hard one to negotiate with. Taako tuned them out, panicked thoughts running through his head.

Taako couldn’t just _leave_ , he would miss Kravitz too much. They spent a year with one another, a blink of an eye to a God, but it had been enough. They knew each other’s interests and dreams and habits down to the smallest little quirks. He loved how Kravitz would accidentally turn into a skeleton when he was surprised or flustered. He loved how the God would shuffle through accents to comfort the dead so often that it would mess with his own voice. He loved how he would pluck the strings of his violin when he was nervous and how much he genuinely _cared_ for the spirits in his realm and how he…

He loved _Kravitz_.

Taako loved Kravitz and he didn’t want to lose him, he couldn’t lose him. He knew he would, if he returned to Mount Olympus. Lup would never let him out of her sight, she’d have the other Gods spy on him ( _especially_ Angus) to make sure he wouldn’t sneak off again. His only chance of seeing Kravitz again would be at council meetings but Taako never went to those in the first place so good luck convincing Lup he needed to attend them _now_. He loved his sister, loved all the idiots back on Mount Olympus, but he _loved_ Kravitz.

“No.” He blurted out, voice cracking ever so slightly. Kravitz and Merle stopped their discussion at Taako’s outburst and looked over to see the God shaking, clutching at his robes and staring wide eyed down at the River Styx. “I won’t go back, I won’t leave Kravitz.” Kravitz let out a sigh and made his way over to stand beside Taako.

“It’s fine-” He began.

“It’s _not_ fine.” Taako spun to face Kravitz. “I love you, I can’t lose you.” Kravitz felt his heart drop at those words and he froze, wide eyed as Taako clamped a hand over his mouth in shock at his declaration. Before Taako could open his mouth and try to explain himself, try to take it back, Kravitz quickly smiled and once again took Taako’s hand.

“I love you too.” He replied, smile becoming sad. “But you need to leave. We can’t ignore an order from Lucretia.”

“Yes we _can_.” Taako squeezed the other God’s hand in a silent plea. “Unless you make a portal the only God who can come down here on their own is Merle.”

“We can’t just hide down here forever-”

“Of course not _forever_. You may be fun, handsome, but you’re not _that_ fun. Just until my sister calms down.” Taako turned towards Merle. “Come on, you’re the God of diplomacy. Go to my sister and tell her I’m _absolutely fine_ -”

“What do you think we’ve been doing the past year?” Merle cut in. “You’re not an idiot, Taako, and you’re not weak. Sure, Angus was a little worried because the kid looks up to you, but the rest of us knew you were fine. Kravitz may be creepy but he’s a good guy.” Kravitz gave a small smile of thanks. “She just won’t believe us, even Barry can’t convince her.”

“Well then, I’m sorry my dude.” Taako once again let go of Kravitz’s hand and took a step away. “But I’m not leaving until I’m sure I can come back.” Before Merle or Kravitz could even open their mouths to respond, Taako dissipated into mist and escaped further into the underworld away from them.

When Taako materialized he was in his chambers, the living quarters Kravitz had given him as private space to do whatever he pleased. A large canopy bed was centered against one wall and a desk and wardrobe rested against another wall. Every God wore a standard robe but, like many, Taako collected things to personalize his attire like scarves and the hat atop his head which he would store in this room.

Taako let out a breath and walked further into the room, maneuvering around the large terracotta planting pots he had summoned months earlier. They were filled with ashy dirt but not many had anything growing in them. The few that did had produced strange creations, flowers that smelled differently than they should or succulents colored a deep black. Not to mention they had taken forever to grow, at least in Taako’s opinion. Plants normally sprung up at his touch but these grew slowly, like they would for a mortal.

It was Taako’s curiosity that had brought these experiments to life, wondering whether the soil and minerals of the underworld could grow anything outside of places like Elysium. Taako walked over to one of the more successful plants, a small sapling that had managed to grow a couple of pomegranates. The tree itself seemed weak, branches looking as if they might snap from a stiff breeze, but the fruit seemed fine. Taako picked one and held it up to his face, cracking it open to see if the seeds had come out alright. Bright red pearls of fruit tumbled from the pomegranate and into Taako’s waiting palm. The God eyed the fruit, bringing it closer to his mouth, but was interrupted by a frantic knocking at the door to his chamber.

Taako sighed and lowered his hand, looking over at his shoulder at the door. Of course they had found him, there were only so many places Taako could hide in the underworld.

“Taako, please open the door. We need to talk about this.” Came Kravitz’s muffled voice from the other side. Taako rolled his eyes, tossed the seeds into his mouth, and turned to answer the door. He threw the door open to reveal a panicked Kravitz and tired looking Merle.

“There’s nothing to talk about-” Taako began, pausing when he realized Kravitz was no longer looking at him but at the pomegranate still clutched in his hand. He raised his hand, Kravitz’s eyes following the fruit as it moved. The God of the underworld had gone impossibly pale.

“Oh, Taako.” Kravitz spoke softly, voice cracking. “What have you done?”

“What’s wrong?” Merle spoke up from behind him, edging his way into the room to see what was happening. Taako’s brow furrowed as he watched Kravitz stare at the fruit like it was a bottle of poison.

“Seriously, you’re freaking me out here.” Taako began to panic as Kravitz let out a sigh.

“Where did you get that?” Kravitz asked.

“What, the pomegranate?” Taako gestured back to the various pots scattered behind him. “I’m the God of Springtime, homie. I grew it myself.”

“Down here? You grew it in the underworld?” Taako nodded silently and Kravitz looked even more distressed. “I’m so sorry, Taako.” He said, shaking his head. “You can’t leave.” Taako tilted his head, wondering if he had hear Kravitz right.

“ _What_?” Taako didn’t _want_ to leave, he had already made that clear, but the problem had never been that he _couldn’t_ leave.

“But Lucretia already ordered-” Merle began, swiftly cut off when Kravitz fixed him with sorrowful glare.

“That doesn’t _matter_ now. He consumed food grown in the soil of the dead. He’s _bound_ to this realm now, he’s _stuck_ here.” Silence fell among the three Gods. Taako’s body went numb, the pomegranate tumbling from his grasp and bouncing off the tiled floor below.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. I can’t be stuck here.” He muttered, shaking his head. “I mean don’t get me wrong, handsome. Taako’s been having a great time down here with you but cha boy’s got things to do back in the land of the living. My powers are super weak down here, I can barely keep the plants upstairs alive.”

“Don’t forget your sister. Lup’s been refusing to keep the climate warm enough for crops to grow until you return.” Merle reminded him. Taako’s heart nearly stopped. _His sister_. He was angry at her for trying to baby him but _fuck the crops_. Taako would rather die than never see Lup again. He turned to Kravitz, eyes desperately searching his face for some sign that this was all just a cruel joke.

“Are you sure I can’t just…” He trailed off as Kravitz shook his head.

“I’m sorry, I really am, but it’s the laws of this realm. If we allow a little bit of exception to the rules then anybody could take advantage.” Taako looked down and spotted the pomegranate where it had rolled about a foot away from the group.

“All this for a few stupid seeds.” He muttered, nudging the fruit with his foot. With his head down he didn’t notice Kravitz’s head snap up, finally looking over when Merle tugged at his robes and pointed at the other God. Kravitz was staring off into the distance, eyes focused on nothing in particular but mind racing.

“A few…a few seeds?” Kravitz finally spoke, looking over at Taako. “Only a few?” He looked down at the pomegranate on the ground and then scanned the room looking for any other signs of food. “Taako, is that pomegranate the only thing you’ve eaten?” Taako shrugged and walked over to one of the unsuccessful pots, scooping up a handful of dirt.

“Yeah, I may be the master of this shit but it’s hard to grow stuff in your stupid hell dirt.” He let the dirt fall from between his fingers back into the pot. “They were kinda sour too-”

“How many?” Taako turned to look at Kravitz who was practically shaking, eyes wide with the beginnings of a plan. Merle stood beside him, just as confused with the situation as Taako was.

“What?”

“How many seeds did you eat?” Kravitz repeated his question, looking back at the pomegranate as if he could figure out much of it had been eaten. Taako gave an exasperated shrug.

“Why is that important? I still-”

“ _Taako_.”

“ _Fine_ , I don’t…six? I think six maybe?”

“And you haven’t eaten anything else?” Taako slowly shook his head, completely baffled as to where this conversation was leading to.

“No?” Kravitz’s eyes lit up, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small grin at Taako’s answer as he summoned a large tome that dropped into his hands. “Kravitz, what’s going on?”

The book he had summoned was a ledger of sorts, Kravitz had shown it to Taako once before and explained how it worked. Every spirit in the underworld was listed in it along with their placement in the realm as determined by the Judges, but Taako couldn’t figure out why Kravitz was so desperately flipping through it. The God finally stopped on one page, staring down at it with a hopeful look that quickly turned to one of confusion.

“Your name is here.” Kravitz murmured. “But you don’t have a placement, you have….you have a time.”

“A time?” Taako repeated, stepping closer to Kravitz to peer over his shoulder at the page. Sure enough his name was there in a flowing scrawl that looked strangely similar to Taako’s own handwriting. But next to it, where a spirit’s placement should be, was a number of months. “Six months? What does that mean?”

“Six seeds. Six months.” Kravitz declared, voice commanding like he was establishing a new law. “You only need to be here for six months.”

“Like serve a sentence?” Merle asked. “Six months and then he can leave.”

“More like six months per year.” Kravitz amended, voice slow and soft so as not to upset Taako who was still staring down at the ledger as if the information would change if he looked away. “Half the year spent in the underworld and the other half spent, well, wherever you’d like. On Earth I presume.”

“I…I can leave?” Taako’s eyes flicked up to look at Kravitz.

“Yes, but you need to return every six months.” Kravitz sighed and closed the ledger which poofed away in a cloud of smoke. “I’m sorry it’s not more time but-”

“No.” A grin began to form on Taako’s face, much to the confusion of Kravitz and Merle. “ _No_ , this is fine. I can work with this.” He claimed, nodding his head as he began to pace about the room.

“Lup’s not gonna be too happy about it.” Merle pointed out. Taako through his hands in the air, waving them around as he continued to pace.

“Who the fuck cares?!” Taako laughed, still grinning. “I can still _see_ her!” He could see his sister, he could see _everyone_. He wasn’t trapped down here but he would be able to come back, back to Kravitz.

“Is he allowed to leave now?” Merle asked as he watched Taako pace. “All of this needs to be explained back on Mount Olympus.”

“I see no reason why not.” Kravitz answered with a shrug. “But as soon as he leaves his six months will start.” Taako suddenly stopped in the middle of the room and spun on his heels to face Kravitz. The God of death blinked, perplexed by the strange look Taako was giving him. As he opened his mouth to speak Taako came rushing towards him, grabbing the fabric of his robes to pull him close into a deep kiss.

Kravitz vaguely heard Merle give a surprised shout beside him through the roar of blood rushing in his ears. Kravitz’s eyes slipped shut. All he could focus on was Taako, on Taako’s lips on his own and how _soft_ they were. A year of lingering touches and looks and him wanting _this_ more than anything but waiting, waiting to make sure it was something Taako wanted as well. Before Kravitz could begin to properly enjoy the kiss Taako pulled away, lips pinker and eyes blown wide.

“Ready to see my sister, bone daddy?” Taako was grinning, his wide contagious smile, as Kravitz’s mind raced to try and form words, form a sentence, form _anything_ but he only managed a single croaked out phrase.  

“Never call me that again.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It wasn’t easy.

Well, explaining that Taako was now required to spend half of the rest of his existence in the underworld was actually quite easy. That’s just speaking with words, how hard could that be? The not so easy part was holding Lup back from absolutely destroying Kravitz.

“Lulu, calm down!” Taako shouted, wrapping more and more vines around his sister to tug her away. “It’s not his fault!”

“I don’t give a shit, the fucker’s gonna pay!” Lup clawed forward, summoning her own vines studded with thorns to creep toward Kravitz who was being blocked by Magnus and Barry. Magnus swung at the vines with the ax he always kept at his side while Barry and Kravitz conversed in rushed words, trying to come up with some way to pacify the furious Goddess.

Lup had been fine when they first came back. Sure, she sent Kravitz a fiery glare as she crushed Taako in a hug, but that was all she did. She was just happy Taako was back. Most of the other Gods were there as well, gathered in the council room for the homecoming. Angus was close to tears at seeing his favorite mentor back from the underworld and Magnus looked about ready to cry as well. The blacksmith of the Gods had all but sprinted from his workshop when he heard Taako had returned. Avi, God of wine and celebration, was pouring his best bottles out in celebration as Johann, the God of music, strummed away on his lute. Carey and Killian, Goddesses of the hunt and war respectively, had also made an appearance.

Lup was caught between yelling at Taako for running off and muttering how glad she was that he was back, checking him from head to toe for any possible injuries or changes. Merle and Kravitz were off to the side speaking with Barry, breaking the news to him first so that he could relay it to Lup with the lowest risk of damage. When Barry made his way over to the twins, face grim from the news he had to deliver, Lup’s smile fell and Taako pulled away, well aware of what was about to happen. When Barry finished explaining it to Lup, when she learned how she’d lose her brother to the underworld for six months every year, that was when the room erupted into chaos.

It was getting increasingly harder to hold back his sister and Taako feared Kravitz wouldn’t try to fight back if Lup got to him. Barry was shouting at the Goddess, urging her to just listen to Kravitz and Taako for a moment, allow the Gods to explain themselves. Even Angus was trying to help, yelling to Lup as he stood off to the side protected by Merle from any collateral damage. The young God had already figured it out, from the way Taako and Kravitz had been looking at each other when they’d first returned and how desperate Taako was to protect the other God. So much for Taako’s _all love is depressing_ philosophy.

“What in the world is going on here?!” Every God and Goddess in the room froze at the commanding voice resulting in a near-perfect silence wrought with fear. Heads slowly turned to see Lucretia, ruler of the Gods and the skies, had entered the council room. Lucretia scanned the room, taking in the sight of Magnus’s ax out and the vines covering the floor and Lup. “Everyone lay down your weapons and get rid of the vines this instant.” In a single breath the deities did as she commanded, Lup dusting herself off as she continued to glare at Kravitz. Lucretia took a deep breath and gestured towards the one God in the room she could trust most with explaining the situation. “Angus, _and only Angus_ , tell me what happened.”

“Well, Ma’am” Angus pushed his glasses up from where they were slipping down his nose. “Taako is back…”

“I can see that.” Lucretia murmured, looking over at Taako who gave her a weak smile. “I’d imagine his return should be cause for celebration, so what was all the fighting for?”

“It appears Taako consumed food grown in the underworld so he’s now required to spend six months of every year there which Lup wasn’t too happy about so she’s been trying to kill Kravitz while Magnus protected him from the vines with his ax and Taako held Lup back with his own vines but Taako seems to be fine with the arrangement which is likely because he and Kravitz are like Lup and Barry now.” Had Angus been a mortal he would have been out of breath from the explanation. Lucretia raised a brow at the last part.

“They…they’re like Lup and Barry now?”

Angus nodded but when the other Gods continued to stare at him in silent confusion he rolled his eyes and sighed. “They’re in love.” Kravitz and even Taako immediately flushed at his words as the whole room erupted once again into a roar of voices. This time Barry held Lup back from charging at Kravitz, whispering things into her ear in an effort to calm her down.

“SILENCE!” Lucretia’s booming voice filled the air with sparks of static and the heavy feeling of an oncoming storm. Again everyone froze as she turned to address the God of Spring. “Taako, running away to the underworld was incredibly irresponsible and selfish of you.” Taako opened his mouth to defend himself but Lucretia held up a silencing hand and continued on. “The species and weather under your domain suffered in your absence and you made the rest of us worried sick.”

“I was perfectly safe-”

“I’m aware.” Lucretia turned her gaze to Kravitz who had his head bowed and hands clasped behind his back, a pose of respect. “Remember I’ve existed the longest out of everyone and Kravitz was one of the first Gods created after me. He’s always shown great dedication to his work and a kind admiration for both Gods and mortals.” Kravitz looked up, face a bit flushed at Lucretia’s commendation. “Which makes me wonder what was going through his head that he thought allowing you to run off for so long was a good idea.”

“I’m incredibly sorry for contributing to everyone’s worries.” Kravitz finally spoke, taking a few steps towards Lucretia. “I agree, it was a lapse in judgement on my part but…” He turned to look at Taako who sent a comforting smile back. “But I can say with absolute certainty that I don’t regret a single day spent with Taako this past year.”

“Oh I’m gonna make you regret them, thug.” Lup snarled at him, pulling Taako towards her.

“And you, Lup.” Lucretia addressed the Goddess as Taako pulled his arm from her grasp. “I did not send for Taako as a favor to you. I understand you were worried about your brother but punishing mortals as leverage is strictly forbidden.” Lup cast her eyes down to avoid seeing Lucretia’s stern look of disapproval. “If you’re going to go around calling yourself the more mature twin you should start acting like it.” Lup gave a small nod in response. Lucretia looked around the room, at the grouping of all powerful Gods and Goddesses looking very much like kicked puppies, and let out a sigh.

“Everyone sit down.” She ordered, taking her own seat at the white marble table running in an enormous circle around the room. “Now’s good a time as any for a council meeting.”

There was yelling. So much yelling, Angus covered his ears and slumped on the table at one point. Taako had never attended council meetings, never saw the point when the other Gods could give him the bullet point version, but he’s fairly certain most meetings don’t involve this many casual threats. Or maybe they do, who knows.

Lup would steam, quite literally, every time she caught Taako and Kravitz sharing looks from their seats across the room from each other. Lup had dragged Taako to sit next to her and made sure Kravitz was placed as far away as possible. Barry had stealthily begun to summon freezing drops of water to drip above her head.

Kravitz, to his credit, had refrained from turning skeletal despite how incredibly stressed the situation was making him. Taako felt bad that he couldn’t summon his violin to pluck but it seemed as though the comforting smiles he would send his way helped to curb some of the anxiety. The laws of the underworld were well known to Lucretia and Barry, the other two Gods of realms and oldest deities, but they were explained to everyone else present. Kravitz seemed more and more tired every time he was forced to tell another God that there was no way Taako could get out of this, that no exceptions could be made, that this was honestly the best case scenario given the circumstances. Slowly but surely every God and Goddess came around and accepted that Taako would be safe with Kravitz. They had all held their own preconceived prejudices regarding the God of the underworld, some better than others, but after Taako gave his own testament of the year spent with him they began to realize there was more to Kravitz than just death. Taako was known for his brutal honesty and opinions of other people and really had no reason to lie.

Eventually it was just Lup who wasn’t completely swayed. She was no longer glaring at Kravitz, they counted that as a win, but not being able to have access to her brother for half of the year bothered her just as much as it bothered Taako. They were twins, entwined beings created so close to one another for such complementary purposes, who had never been forced to be apart.

“I just got you back, Taako.” Lup murmured, reaching out to her brother with a tired look. Taako took the outstretched hand and squeezed it.

“I know, Lulu, I know.” He whispered back. Individual conversations were taking place around the council room as the meeting finally came to an end and the twins had been given space to talk privately. Taako looked over and was pleased to see a few of the Gods conversing amicably with Kravitz. He looked back at Lup. “Just think of it like a long vacation. You got me here for half the year then I go spend time with Kravitz then I come back.” Lup looked over to Kravitz as well.

“The kid said you two love each other.” She said, not taking her eyes off of Kravitz. “Like me and Barry.”

“Not exactly like you and Barold.” Taako amended, causing Lup to look back at him curiously. “You two are super gross, we’ll never be like that.” Lup let out a snort of laughter and shoved Taako playfully.

“Yeah right, give it a few decades and you’ll be just as gross. Except you’ll be gay and gross which is _worse_.” She taunted, fending off Taako’s retaliating shove. The twins tangled their legs together, hands clasped together just to be close. Lup’s smile fell slightly.

“I’m gonna miss you while you’re gone.” She murmured. Taako reached up to tuck a stray stand of hair behind her ear.

“I’m gonna miss you too.”

True to his word Taako spent the next six months on Earth and Mount Olympus. Together he and Lup corrected the famine they’d inflicted on the mortals as best they could, providing them with a plentiful Fall harvest so they could catch up on preparing for the Winter.

Taako realized there was a way to tell his time was coming to an end. Ravens would follow him when he was on Earth, only a few at first, but eventually they would fill the trees he sat by or hop along behind him while he walked through meadows. It was a bit unnerving at first but Taako remembered these ravens were servants of Kravitz, they meant him no harm.

When the time finally came for him to return to the underworld Kravitz appeared to personally escort him there. Taako greeted him with a “Missed you, bone daddy!” to which Kravitz requested he please pick a different pet name. He had a feeling Taako would not be picking a different pet name.

 A few of the Gods and Goddesses saw him off with farewells and gifts. Avi provided him with crates of wine and Lup made sure he had all the plants he wanted, especially so he wouldn’t try growing anything in the underworld again and extend his sentence. Johann even provided Kravitz with gifts, musical scores and new strings for his violin.

The parting was sad but sweet, heavy hearts comforted by the knowledge that Taako would be back in six months, that this wasn’t forever. In a way, everyone got what they wanted. Taako and Kravitz could stay together and Taako could still see his sister and the other Gods. There was a balance of time, as forced as it was, but it worked for them. Sure, it wasn’t normal…

But since when were Gods normal?

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna chat you can find me at [madqueenreigns](http://madqueenreigns.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


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